In Italy, a 14-Year-Old Girl Escapes Her Abusive Stepfather With a Single Hand Signal

In Rome, a 14-year-old girl escaped a sexual assault by her stepfather thanks to a discreet hand signal she managed to flash at a passing Italian state police patrol. The incident took place on Thursday, August 20, during a car journey from a small town in the Monti Prenestini hills to Rome, according to the regional news outlet RomaToday.

According to the report, the drive along the Via Casilina turned into a nightmare. The 47-year-old Romanian national, who had started drinking that morning and kept several bottles of alcohol in the car, first showered his stepdaughter with unusual attention and promises of gifts, then turned to physical violence and attempted to sexually assault her.

A Lifesaving Signal Outside a Phone Shop

The girl managed to stop the attack only when the man parked the car near a mobile phone shop. While he went inside, the teenager spotted a police patrol driving by and, without saying a word, made a known hand signal from the car window — a discreet gesture used to call for urgent help. The officers pulled over immediately and listened to the frightened, sobbing teenager's account.

When the man came out of the shop, he was visibly drunk and tried to attack the officers themselves, all while continuing to hurl abuse at his stepdaughter.

The Mother Also Filed a Complaint Against Her Partner

The girl was later interviewed with the help of a child psychologist, and the man was detained. The teenager's mother also came to the police station to file a report against her partner, saying that she herself had repeatedly been a victim of his violence. Following the investigation, the man was taken into custody.

The hand signal the girl used to alert police was created in Canada in 2020 at the initiative of the non-profit Canadian Women's Foundation. Since then, it has spread to other countries as a discreet way to signal for help, even in the presence of an abuser.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz